A van driver accused of killing a mother of three and attempting to kill 13 other pedestrians was too unwell to appear in court today.

A van driver accused of killing a mother of three and attempting to kill 13 other pedestrians was too unwell to appear in court today.

Matthew Tvrdon, who is accused of deliberately driving into parents and young children in the Ely and Leckwith areas of Cardiff on October 19 last year, was due to enter pleas to 19 charges at Cardiff Crown Court.

But lawyers acting on his behalf said he was too ill to travel to court.

He is charged with murdering Karina Menzies, 31, who was killed outside Ely Fire Station by a white Iveco van and attempting to kill 13 others, half of them children, also hit by the van.

He also faces four charges of actual bodily harm and one of dangerous driving.

Judge Mr Justice Wyn Williams adjourned the plea hearing until either May 24 or June 5 – the first day listed for Tvrdon’s trial.

He also extended the period Tvrdon could be kept in custody from April 24 to June 7.

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